III. Background

Second Chechnya War and "Chechenization" of the Conflict

The second Chechnya war, Russia's military campaign for "counter terrorism" in the Chechen Republic, began in September 1999, after the ascendancy of Islamist "fundamentalist" elements in the Chechen separatist movement had culminated in August raids into the neighboring republic of Dagestan.[6] These incursions, along with a series of bombings in Russia that authorities blamed on Chechen terrorists, prompted the Russian government to reassert control over Chechnya-Ichkeria, which had been de facto independent since 1996.[7]

By March 2000, Russian forces at least nominally controlled most of the territory of the Chechen Republic, and sought to consolidate their positions in the republic with extensive deployments of troops from the federal Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Internal Affairs, and Federal Security Service. These and other federal structures established bases and temporary bureaus to continue to fight the insurgency and maintain local law and order. The Kremlin also appointed a representative of the Russian government to oversee the administration of the republic and appointed heads of district administrations, all of them ethnic Russians.

But gradually the federal government began to hand responsibility for governing the republic and carrying out counterinsurgency operations to pro-Russian Chechen leaders. This process became known among analysts as "chechenization."

Seeking a figure who could gain the trust of important strata within Chechen society, the Kremlin chose Akhmat Kadyrov to become the head of the administration in Chechnya. Kadyrov was from a powerful Chechen family, had strong ties to rebel field commanders, had served as the mufti (chief religious scholar) of the republic since 1995, and opposed Islamist "fundamentalism." He had supported independence in the first Chechen war, but switched sides to support Moscow early in the second war. Kadyrov's authority was further entrenched when he was elected president of Chechnya in October 2003.[8]

As a security policy, chechenization aimed to place most responsibility for law and order and counterinsurgency operations on republican security structures. An important factor in this process was Akhmat Kadyrov's personal bodyguard service, known as the Presidential Security Service (Sluzhba Bezopasnosti, or SB, the acronym it is known by) and headed by his son, Ramzan. Their numbers, experience as former rebel fighters, and easy access to Akhmad Kadyrov made these so-called Kadyrovtsy the most important indigenous force in Chechnya.[9]

In May 2004 a bomb attack killed Akhmat Kadyrov, and Russian authorities organized a presidential election to replace their chosen partner. At age 27, Ramzan Kadyrov inherited his father's influence and was commander of the "Kadyrovtsy," but was three years under the minimum age to become president according to the Chechen constitution. Alu Alkhanov, a candidate endorsed by the Kadyrov family, was elected president, and Ramzan Kadyrov was appointed first vice-prime minister in charge of security.[10]

With Ramzan Kadyrov now in government, perhaps as many as several thousand former SB troops loyal to him were reassigned to a newly created unit of checkpoint guards (known as PPSM-2 or the "Akhmat Kadyrov Regiment") and to the so-called Oil Regiment (Neftepolk). Ramzan Kadyrov's influence over his men was in no way diminished, even though in their new units the former SB personnel had clear and limited legal mandates. The checkpoint guards are essentially beat officers, and the oil regiment is supposed to guard petroleum-related facilities. But in practice they were in fact involved in counterinsurgency activities. Moreover, Kadyrov was sometimes personally involved in operational command over such operations.[11]

Over the course of 2005, Kadyrov was able to push his allies into key positions in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and thus gain direct influence over the ministry as a whole.[12] In 2006 those members of Kadyrov's forces who had not been integrated into units under the Chechen Ministry of Internal Affairs were joined into two Chechen battalions, Sever (North) and Yug (South), as part of the 42nd brigade of internal troops of the Russian federal Ministry of Internal Affairs. Although formally subordinate to the federal ministry, the servicemen of North and South are in practice believed to remain under the control of Ramzan Kadyrov.[13]

In 2005 and into early 2006, Ramzan Kadyrov's political power grew substantially. In spring 2006 Kadyrov became prime minister of Chechnya. In February 2007 his ascent to power was completed through Alkhanov's apparently forced resignation. In April 2007 Ramzan Kadyrov was sworn in as president of the Chechen republic, following nomination to the post by Russia's then-president Vladimir Putin.[14]

Human Rights Abuses and Counterinsurgency in Chechnya

In the early years of the second Chechen conflict the perpetrators of human rights violations were for the most part Russian federal forces. With "chechenization," by 2004 Chechen law enforcement and security officials became the main perpetrators of human rights abuses in Chechnya.[15]

According to prominent Russian human rights groups, the counterinsurgency operations these forces conducted, sometimes jointly with federal servicemen, frequently involved abduction-style detentions. Some of the abducted "disappeared."[16] Many of the abducted were placed in illegal prisons and tortured to compel them to sign confessions and testimonies against third parties.[17] Once they signed coerced statements, some detainees went on to be prosecuted, and others were released or sold back to their families.[18] Still others were reportedly coerced into joining the ranks of the "Kadyrovtsy" (where their captors exploited the culture of blood feud by forcing them to participate in operations against their former comrades, making a return to their previous lives impossible).[19]

On April 16, 2009, the Kremlin formally ended the counterterrorism operation in Chechnya, thus reinforcing Kadyrov's stronghold on the republic.[20] Today, with the 10-year war officially over, the lack of accountability for such abuses as extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, and torture remains overwhelmingly the case. Also, security forces loyal to the Chechen president continue to use torture and illegal detention, albeit on a smaller scale, especially against those with family or social ties to suspected rebels.

Kadyrov is reputed to run the republic with an iron fist, seeking to intimidate those critical of his authority, including those raising such issues as corruption, human rights abuses by Chechen law enforcement and security personnel, and flawed policies of the government.[21]

Nature of the Insurgency Today

The number of insurgents who continue to operate in Chechnya is unclear. In spring 2009, when arguing that the Kremlin should declare an end to the decade-long counterterrorist operation, Ramzan Kadyrov claimed that the remaining rebel fighters numbered no more than 70.[22] Russian special services, at the same time, reported approximately 500 insurgents still active in the republic.[23]

There is no doubt that Ramzan Kadyrov's grip on Chechnya and his successful strategy of recruiting insurgents into his forces in exchange for personal security guarantees made it increasingly difficult for the insurgents to operate in Chechnya. Consequently, by 2007 their efforts became largely focused on neighboring Ingushetia, whose authorities were too weak to effectively exert control over the situation and whose residents were frustrated and alienated by violent and lawless actions by security and law enforcement agencies; both factors contributed to the insurgency's growth there.[24] Today, insurgent attacks continue in Chechnya, although far less frequently than in Ingushetia or Dagestan. For example, with the counterterrorism operation already officially over, between mid-April and early May 2009 alone, news agencies reported at least four rebel attacks in Chechnya on military and law enforcement personnel, which caused multiple casualties.[25] 

The insurgents' proclaimed long-term goal is to create an Islamic state in the Caucasus.[26] Their short-term agenda is far from clear, and can be generally described as destabilizing the situation in the North Caucasus region. The insurgents active in various republics of the North Caucasus are reported to be coordinated by Doku Umarov, a prominent Chechen commander and former president of the unrecognized Chechnya Republic of Ichkeria, who leads the so-called Majlisul Shura, or council of rebel field commanders, and appoints territorial commanders.[27] In October 2007 Umarov dissolved Ichkeria and proclaimed himself "Emir of the Caucasus Emirates," at the time specifically condemning "all names that the faithless [non-Muslims] use to divide Muslims"-that is any ethnic or territorial division of the Caucasus.[28] It therefore appears that after several years of symbiosis between Islamist and separatist tendencies within the armed groups, the Chechen separatist project lost to the militant Islamist approach. One expert on the insurgency emphasized that the contemporary insurgency movement in the North Caucasus is of a "clearly Jihadist" nature.[29]

However, among new recruits there may be individuals motivated less by religious militancy and more by revenge for family members killed by security services and personal experiences of abduction and torture. For example, a resident of Shali district interviewed for this report explained to Human Rights Watch what he believed to be his son's motivation for joining the insurgency. Beslan B. told Human Rights Watch that his son first came to the attention of police in October 2007, when law enforcement agents were conducting a special operation in Shali to detain an insurgent. The suspected insurgent escaped, leaving behind his car, which had earlier belonged to Beslan B.'s son Beka. Beka B. was immediately detained by Shali-based PPSM-2 servicemen and severely beaten during interrogation. Beka B. insisted that he had sold the car earlier and had no idea how it came into the possession of the insurgents. PPSM-2 servicemen detained him several more times between October 2007 and August 2008. After each detention, Beka B. returned home with clearly visible bruises. On one occasion, he suffered an epileptic seizure during the beating, was thrown out onto the street by his torturers, and left there for dead. "He just could not deal with it any longer. This was no life," said Beslan B.[30]

At the same time, once individuals without strong religious motivation join the rebel forces they are believed to become indoctrinated in strict and militant Islam.[31] Also, most of the family members of alleged insurgents interviewed for this report clearly indicated that the law enforcement authorities showed them pictures of their relatives in the woods among insurgents, which had been downloaded from "Kavkaz Center," a leading insurgent website, or other pro-insurgency internet sites. The photographs had been posted to the internet in each case only a few days after their relative had left home, a practice that seems so widespread as to suggest the insurgents may be exposing their new recruits specifically in order to prevent them from reconsidering and returning home.

Unlawful Tactics Used by Insurgents in Chechnya

Over the years, the insurgents have used a variety of violent tactics, including killings and house-burning, against members and supporters of pro-federal Chechen authorities, such as policemen, members of security servicemen, administration officials, and their family members.   

For example, on August 10, 2005, a group of insurgents carried out a punitive raid in the mountain village of Dyshne-Vedeno (in Vedeno district). Eight insurgents broke into the house of Deshi Abdulkerimova, whose grandson was a policeman. They tied Deshi Abdulkerimova to her bed, doused the room with gasoline, torched it, and prevented neighbors from interfering. Abdulkerimova died in the fire. The perpetrators then broke into the yard of a local policeman, Alikhan Altemirov, tied up his mother and two brothers, dragged them into the neighboring yard, torched their house, and threatened to exterminate the family unless Alikhan Altemirov resigned from the police force. On the same night, the insurgents also burned the houses of another police officer, Khalis Turaev, and a staff member of the Vedeno district commandant's office, Kazbek Debishev.[32]

In a similar punitive operation on June 13, 2008, in the village of Benoi-Vedeno (in Nozhai-Yurt district) insurgents burned five houses belonging to the Umarov family, one of whom was in the police force. The insurgents forced elderly family members to the ground, doused their houses with gasoline, torched them, and kept the neighbors from putting the fire out.[33] The perpetrators also shot at a passing car, killing two local residents, Khabib Isaev and his son Abdurakhman. As they left the village, they launched a grenade at the head of administration's house and yelled that they would come back for him.[34] They also left a note at the site of the Umarovs' burned house saying that anyone who worked for or cooperated with the authorities would be punished in the same manner.[35]

Also, on December 4, 2008, a group of insurgents killed the former village administration head for Agishty (Shali district) Khaji Saidullaev, together with his wife and son, and set their house on fire.[36]

The perpetrators in these and other crimes must be held accountable under the law and in accordance with international fair trial standards. However, unlawful tactics deployed by insurgents-including house-burning, killings and the like-may by no means justify the use of similar tactics by government forces fighting against insurgency.